January 2024
Maria
Voudy
,
RN
Emergency Room
Broward Health Medical Center
FT Lauderdale
,
FL
United States
Such an ingenious idea now ensures that all team members involved in the patient's care have access to the info card with ID#, company name, physician name, and facility where the device was inserted.
Maria took care of a very sick woman who presented to the ER with lethargy, altered mental status, and an elevated temperature. The patient had an extensive medical history including brain surgery for a parietal tumor and implantation of a Bone Bridge Device. Verifying that the implanted device was MRI-compatible proved to be a challenge as her husband (who had the device info) was out of town. Maria contacted the patient's husband, who then sent a picture of the Bone Bridge device to the friend who came to the ER with the patient. Maria then took the picture on the ED department iPad (commonly used to photograph decubitus ulcers) and uploaded the image to the clinical media section of the patient's chart. Such an ingenious idea now ensures that all team members involved in the patient's care have access to the info card with ID#, company name, physician name, and facility where the device was inserted. Using Maria's example, the ER plans on making this a regular part of assessment and documentation, using our iPad to photogram pacemaker ID cards and other info on implanted devices. Thank you, Maria, for your creative, innovative use of our resources.